EXCERPT: “Thousands of units have come online in the downtowns, Uptown, near the University of Minnesota and throughout the suburbs—and construction cranes are everywhere. There has been talk for months of an apartment bubble or glut. Despite that, it’s getting harder to find an apartment. The Twin Cities metro area’s vacancy rate dropped from an already low 2.8 percent at the beginning of the year to 2.4 percent during the second quarter, according to a report by Marquette Advisors. A healthy apartment market has a vacancy rate around 5 percent. The low rate has given landlords more power to raise rents.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2k9JmOr

EXCERPT: “A long-vacated office building in South St. Paul is slated to be converted into a 68-unit apartment complex, and city officials anticipate it will spur other apartments and retail in a corridor that currently lacks both. Minneapolis developer Master Properties has received approval from the city council to renovate and repurpose the roughly 70,000-square-foot, four-story building at 161 N. Concord Exchange, just north of Interstate 494 and east of Concord Street. The project, estimated to cost $10 million, will bring new apartments to the city for the first time in nearly a decade, said Ryan Garcia, the city’s economic-development manager.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2AYGyhZ

EXCERPT: “Businesses in communities short of housing commonly donate money to build apartments, or help employees buy homes, but a central Minnesota meatpacker bought an entire apartment building to shelter some of its new employees. Long Prairie Packing, part of the Wisconsin-based American Foods Group, bought an old apartment building in Alexandria three years ago mostly for new workers. ‘We can bring people to the area, get them settled in their jobs,’ American Foods’ President Steven Van Lannen said. It is not like a company town of years past because the idea is for the workers to move on to other homes, often eight to 10 weeks after starting with the beef packer. The building had been used mostly by Alexandria college students, Van Lannen said, and its small rooms do not work well for families. But it is a good recruiting tool for people new to the area or the meat packing business, he said.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2BEF4Xg

EXCERPT: “The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority is going to offer some carrots to get landlords to accept low-income tenants. Come May, however, they’ll also have a stick. In testimony before the Community Development Committee of the Minneapolis City Council this week, the authority’s leadership detailed a series of incentives and policy changes meant to remove reasons cited in the past by landlords for not taking Section 8 tenants, who pay rent with the help of government-subsidized housing vouchers.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2AkEZda

EXCERPT: “The deck is stacked against the development of housing for the workforce in greater Minnesota. Private developers prefer to build in the Twin Cities and other large communities. They see higher risks in greater Minnesota, largely because many of the areas short of housing rely on one or two major employers. If one closes to cuts back, it may be hard or impossible to collect enough rent to make a profit. Nearly all apartment construction needs government involvement or private funding in all but a few areas outside of the Twin Cities.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2kbN5P6

EXCERPT: “A Twin Cities developer is proposing a 560-acre housing and mixed-use project that, if approved, would deliver as many as 1,700 homes to a city with a 2016 population of just 5,400. North Dayton Development, the working name for the project, is the largest housing development ever proposed to Dayton, said Tina Goodroad, Dayton’s city administrator and development director . . . Preliminary plans call for 1,500 to 1,700 single-family homes that around 28 acres of mixed-use commercial space in Dayton, just south of Dayton River Road.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2zABLiF

EXCERPT: “The tax reform bill that passed the US House this week would eliminate tax credits that have been essential in building affordable housing projects in Minnesota and elsewhere. Housing advocates sounded the warning call Tuesday at an event at the Upper Post Veterans Community, which is an excellent example of the type of development that would be threatened by the loss of the tax incentives. ‘Tax policy is housing policy,’ Deidre Smith, the CEO of CommonBond Communities, told reporters. ‘Tax policy is housing policy because in the United States we don’t really fund the construction or preservation of affordable housing through the federal budget.'” FULLSTORY: http://kare11.tv/2BdAuzl

EXCERPT: “The story is that greater Minnesota loses population because there are not enough jobs. However, many greater Minnesota communities actually have plenty of jobs, leaving areas short of housing for workers that businesses and industries need. Some industries have resorted to busing in workers and some have helped finance housing in an effort to attract workers. It is a story most Minnesotans do not know, but one that keeps city and business leaders awake at night. Some experts guess that up to 7,500 new homes are needed, but no one really knows. Perham, a 3,000-population city in western Minnesota, is one of the lucky ones in jobs, but unlucky in housing.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2AuTH2h

EXCERPT: “Approximately 25 picketers marched Monday afternoon outside Mayo Clinic’s Gonda Building, hoping to raise awareness of the need for more affordable housing in Rochester. The group, CURE — Communities United for Rochester Empowerment, has been seeking a face-to-face meeting with Dr. John Noseworthy, the clinic’s CEO. That request was met with encouragement to join discussions at Rochester Area Foundation on affordable housing, which have included Mayo representatives . . . In addition to asking for a face-to-face meeting with Noseworthy, CURE is asking Mayo Clinic to lead an effort to raise $60 million during the next five years to help create affordable housing and support creating a city policy that would require 20 percent of all new housing to be affordable.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2mPzjmm

EXCERPT: “Fannie Mae today announced that it will resume low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) activities to provide a reliable source of capital for affordable rental housing and underserved markets. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) approved Fannie Mae’s re-entry into the LIHTC market as an equity investor effective immediately. Fannie Mae’s return to the LIHTC market will expand the company’s efforts to increase and improve affordable housing stock and help those markets most in need of support. Fannie Mae’s deep experience, long history, strong leadership, and partnership approach in the LIHTC market positions the company to provide immediate and ongoing support for the production and preservation of affordable rental housing. Since its inception, the LIHTC program has built nearly 3 million apartment units, housing about 6.7 million low-income families, and currently finances the construction and rehabilitation of almost all subsidized housing in the U.S. Approximately 90,000 apartment units are built each year using LIHTC, enabling thousands of Americans to find affordable housing.” FULLSTORY: http://read.bi/2AN9Yvm